It does absorb bumps especially on a mountain bike or aluminum frame road bike.

HORRIBLE and unreliable seat post clamp.

I have used severalUSE suspension seatposts for years on my hardtail and road bike. It works except for a little "stiction." It has a horrible clamp that scratches the heck out of the saddle rails. It is difficult to put on and does not allow much adjustment for leveling the sadle. The worst part is my seatpost broke on a 600 mile bike ride. Have you ever tried to ride a bike without a seatpost 8 weeks after ACL surgery?

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none

Light and plush

weak looking clamp and stiction

If you do not have a lot of seatpost extending from the frame and you need to tighten down on the seatpost clamp, the compression actually squeezes the post and causes extreme stiction and bindup of the post. If I loosen the binder bolt, the seat and post twist during dismount and over rough terrain. The rock shox does not do this and is only about 60 grams heavier...however the rock shox does not come in 26.8 in the road post, only the mtn, which is heavier with more travel. That's fine with me since the cushy ride is more enjoyable and I just stiffen up the elastomers. The extra weight isn't a real concern because, hey, it's fu#@in' cyclocross and that sh1t is supposed to be a little heavy so you work harder running up those damn hills!

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Rock shox

a bit lighter than the other one out there

Bad saddle clamp

Has a good shock absorbing ride, but the seat clamp assembly doesn't work well. If you want to angle the seat slightly down at the nose, the rear top part of the clamp mech won't sit flush on the saddle rails. It cuts in to the rails with it's sharp edge at an angle. Looks like it would eventually crimp the rails under hard use and snap them in half.

The Rock Shox road post has a better clamp that works the way it should. It weighs about 25g more than the USE, but it's the best of the two.

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Rock Shox road suspension post, Campagnolo Record Ti, other rigid steel and alloy posts

I have the non-suspension version of the USE post in titanium. Light weight (180 g in 300 mm), minimalist looks, shim system (post is 25 mm, with shims to fit to 34 mm +), good cost/performance ratio (~40 UKP for Alu in 300 mm and 70 UKP for Ti in 300 mm) and good range of lengths at varying costs (~250 mm, ~300 mm, & ~430 mm). Oh yes - it has an amount of fore/aft flex that irons out some smaller bumps.

In-line post may not be suitable for all as it brings the saddle forward by about 3 cm. For me, it's fine as I have a short-ish upper body.

A low cost, high performance post that lasts and lasts (I had the Alu one for 4 years on my MTB and it never gave up). Thanks for the shim, it may be the last you need. Only 4 widgets for the overal rating as some might not like it being in-line. It's good for road and MTB, and several friends who have used it or borrowed by bike have gone out a bought one themselves.

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USE non-suspension Alu. Various stock pins.

1. Smooths out the bumps and vibration- it saves your butt!
2. Very little weight penalty.

Awkward clamp... but not anywhere near as bad as the Alien.

A suspended post makes a HUGE difference on a long ride. Get one, especially if you have a sore butt after a long day in the saddle. This post works fine and I would buy another, especially since it weighs less than the competition.

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none

Does what it advertises. Light.

A bit tough to set up.

If you have an unforgiving aluminium frame or very bumpy roads to ride (or both), a suspension seatpost is definitely the answer. And this one is light & works well; no sqeaks, freeze-ups or seat adjustment problems in 2+ years for me. It'll make your "soda can" frame ride loke a Rolls.

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Girvin;Nashbar